1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to hair curling appliances. In particular, the invention relates to electrically heated hair curling irons and brushes having a unique handle construction and actuating mechanism for controlling movable parts of such appliances.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Electrically heated hair appliances used for treating hair often take the form of curling irons such as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,365 (Kunz et al.) or curling brushes such as those represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,567 (Kunz et al.). Both of the aforementioned patents are assigned to the assignee hereof. Such appliances generally have a handle, a hair winding portion attached to and axially aligned with the handle and a heating means within the hair winding portion for electrically heating it.
In the case of curling irons, the hair winding portion generally consists of a smooth (or flocked) cylindrical barrel having a spring biased, elongated, hair gripping or retaining clip pivotally mounted on the appliance. The clip has a hair retaining portion extending adjacent the barrel and on one side of a transverse pivot axis and an actuating lever or projection extending adjacent the handle on the other side of the pivot axis. In some cases, the projection is directly depressed radially inwardly to pivot the clip about its pivot axis, and in other cases the projection is pivoted indirectly by a user depressing an extra member which is itself in direct contact with the projection. The projection and all associated members to effect its motion will be referred to herein as a clip actuating mechanism.
In the case of hair curling brushes, the hair winding portion consists of a cylindrical base barrel having a plurality of bristles extending therefrom and the appliance may or may not be provided with means for rotating the hair winding portion relative to the handle. Also, rotatable curling brushes are known with and without latching devices for locking or preventing the rotation of the hair winding portion. A rotatable brush without a locking device is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,608 (Holley et al.). This device has a smooth handle provided with a layer of insulating material such as cork or foamed plastic. Rotatable brushes with locking devices are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,934 (Isshiki et al.), 4,314,137 (Dorn), 4,468,554 (Andis), each of which show locking devices generally radially protruding from the handle and which must be depressed to be activated, i.e. to lock or release the barrel. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,023,578 (Buhler), 3,909,868 (Nogues) and Belgian Pat. No. 867,075 (Blitog) show rotatable curling brushes with sliding locking devices. These do not protrude from the handle quite so much as the devices shown in the previously mentioned patents. The various locking devices and members associated therewith to achieve proper operation are generally referred to herein as brush actuating mechanisms. The term is similar to that used with respect to curling irons to represent that both curling irons and rotatable curling brushes have moving parts activated by similar "actuating mechanisms".
Prior art curling irons and curling brushes which are provided with actuating mechanisms for actuating either the clip or the rotatable barrel latch have projecting actuating mechanisms which necessarily occupy a predetermined amount of space on the appliance and project beyond the cylindrical surface of the handle. Such projecting actuating mechanisms are adjacent the handle and therefore interfere with the user's rotation of the appliances about their axes, thereby making it difficult to wind hair on the hair winding portion. The protrusion of the actuating mechanisms also prevents hair near the scalp from being wound on the appliances. One example of an actuating projection which extends a fairly large distance above the surface of the handle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,292 (Walter et al.), assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Even in those situations such as the aforementioned Pat. No. 4,366,365 which includes a relatively streamlined actuating mechanism, the handle must be made with a greater diameter in the area of the actuating mechanism in order to fit the mechanism in the handle. For example, the clip in this patent is shown to have an actuating projection horizontally aligned with the hair retaining portion. A cantilever spring element being an integral portion of the handle is situated over the clip projection--producing a greater handle size in this area--and is depressed in order to open the clip.
The handle of prior art curling irons and brushes must be a certain minimum length to be usable and comfortable to a user. To further provide a prior art actuating mechanism adjacent the handle of prior art curling irons and brushes makes the overall length of the devices greater than actually necessary to treat hair, thus making the appliances less convenient and more costly.
Another disadvantage of prior art hair curling appliances having projecting actuating mechanisms is that they are often awkward and difficult to use since the user's thumb (or other finger) must be raised, considerably in some cases, to reach the actuating mechanism. Also, since the surface of the actuating mechanism is radially removed from the handle, it is necessary to have the appliance and the user's hand in a specific relative orientation to enable the actuation of the actuating mechanism.
One other disadvantage associated with prior art hair appliances relates to the characteristics of the plastic material from which these devices are generally molded. Because the plastic must be hard enough to serve as a firm foundation to which other components are mounted, the handle is necessarily hard. This causes a less comfortable grip for the user in the course of turning the appliance to wind hair on the hair winding portion. In part, this is because the plastic surface is often not textured and has relatively little frictional resistance to the user's hand.
Still another disadvantage of prior art electrically operated hair appliances is their limitation in providing the user with an adequate indication of the "on/off" condition of the appliance. Such an indication is generally provided, if at all, by a single neon light, for example, visible only from a limited wiewing angle.
In view of the above, it is an object of this invention to provide a hair appliance which may be easily rotated and manipulated by a user. It is a further object to provide a hair curling appliance having a resilient and flexible handle.
It is another object of this invention to provide a hair appliance having a handle of uniform diameter. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a hair curling appliance where the actuating mechanism is not radially projecting from the handle.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a hair appliance having an actuating mechanism which may be actuated with a user's hand being in a variety of orientations relative to the appliance.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an electrically operated hair appliance having a power condition indicating means visible annularly relative to the axis of the appliance.